Cynthia McKinney Target of Assassination Plot

What in the world would the FBI want with me? First of all, at 4:56 pm today they called me at my mother’s home while I was there, so I was able to speak with them. Then, I was told that the four men indicated in the story below, that broke in the metro Atlanta news today, had listed me as a target for assassination.

Let me be clear: I am not afraid of these men listed below. I do, however, have concerns about the activities of the FBI that had on its payroll a so-called radio “shock jock” who announced to his listenership in 2006 that I should be lynched on my way to vote. Only in 2009 did I find out that he was on the FBI payroll at the time of his incendiary remarks because that was his defense in another case where Mr. Turner made similarly incendiary remarks, but against White elected officials so he was prosecuted! The Connecticut State Capitol Police initiated the prosecution:

“Mr. Turner’s comments are above and beyond the threshold of free speech”, Capitol Police Chief Michael J. Fallon said in an e-mail announcing the warrant. “He is inciting others through his website to commit acts of violence and has created fear and alarm. He should be held accountable for his conduct”. (1)

Sadly, the U.S. Capitol Hill Police, lumbering under the weight of several lawsuits filed by its own Black police officers, could never think of protecting me even after a direct threat had been made against me. My untold story is that I struggled in the Congress with mean-spirited threats all of the time. Nasty name calling, racial slurs, even stalking and bomb threats. I tried to deal with it as best I could and with grace.

So now, the government agency that was paying the shock jock to threaten me rings to inform me that I now qualify for victim witness services.

I don’t know what political reaction they expect from me. I do have an idea, but they surely won’t get it. Recently, I have been reaching out to conservative White individuals and organizations for dialogue and I will continue to do so. The people I’ve been reaching out to are hearing my message and it is getting through: if you and I fail to talk about our problems, we will never resolve them and the same old culprits who have skillfully divided us on the false basis of race will continue to steal opportunity from both of us. Let’s at least talk to each other and keep our eyes together on the ones stealing the people blind.

I will continue my political activities with the Bertrand Russell Tribunal on Palestine that just this past weekend announced its findings that from witness testimony from Israel and Palestine, it is clear that Israel practices its own unique form of apartheid.

I will continue to oppose the senseless, inane, immoral, illegal wars of the Obama Administration.

I will continue to pursue war crimes prosecutions against war criminals and that includes former Presidents and Prime Ministers.

I will continue to seek understanding with my fellow Americans so that we can oppose the madness that is now running our country that, unfortunately, is running roughshod over the environment and our world.

Wayne Madsen (waynemadsenreport.com) will carry a complete story on this intriguing phone call tomorrow–please check it out. In addition, please post this message everywhere so that the appropriate people will know that I will not be deterred from opening a necessary line of communication with other members of the 99% and I will not stop my activities for truth, justice, peace, and dignity.

Finally, for those of you who are new to my e-list messages, I’d love to have your permission to add you to my e-list and we can communicate all of the time. Let me hear from you that you’d like to be on my list and I’ll add you.

The assassination of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney was part of the terrorist plot hatched by four North Georgia men, federal prosecutors said Wednesday in a bond hearing for the accused.

Richard MillerFrom left, Frederick Thomas, his attorney Jeffrey Ertl, attorney Michael Trost, Dan Roberts, Samuel Crump and an unidentified attorney attend a bond hearing for four North Georgia men accused of planning terrorist acts at the U.S. District Court in Gainesville.

The four men accused of planning to bomb federal buildings, disperse the toxin ricin in major U.S. cities, and assassinate federal judges and prosecutors pleaded not guilty at the hearing in U.S. District Court in Gainesville.

The alleged leader, Frederick W. Thomas, 73, of Cleveland, and Dan Roberts, 67, of Toccoa, are charged with conspiring to buy explosives and possessing an unregistered silencer. Toccoa men Samuel J. Crump, 68, and Ray H. Adams, 55, face charges of conspiring to make and disperse ricin, according to the federal indictment.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McBurney said law enforcement officers seized 52 weapons and 30,000 rounds of ammunition from Thomas’ home. The weapons included assault rifles, shotguns, pistols with extended magazines and revolvers, and “sniper round” bullets and “sub-sonic” ammunition designed to be used with silencers, he said. McBurney did not say where the guns and ammunition were kept in the home.

But defense attorney Jeff Ertel countered that Thomas is an avid gun collector and hunter. He said all of the weapons were legally owned, a point McBurney conceded. Ertel said his client has 30 years of Naval service, is loyal to his country, and is not a threat.

“It’s not an arsenal put together to assassinate people. It’s a gun collection he had,” said Ertel, who called Thomas’ son, Paul Thomas, to testify about their father and son hunting trips.

McBurney noted that Thomas’ arsenal included weapons used in military activities, not designed for hunting.

“You don’t hunt with a bomb,” McBurney said. “You don’t put a silencer on a gun to shoot a deer.”

After hearing nearly two hours of testimony regarding whether Thomas should be granted bond, U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Cole adjourned the proceeding without making a decision or hearing about the other defendants.

Testimony for the remaining defendants will be heard Tuesday. The hearing will decide whether the men will remain in jail until they are tried. Testimony for Crump and Adams will focus more on the accusation that the group planned to manufacture ricin as a weapon of mass destruction. The men hoped to spur a revolution that would restore, in their eyes, a more Constitutional government, according to federal affidavits.

Ertel called Thomas’ wife, Charlotte, to testify about his frail health, which includes emphysema, diabetes, degenerative spine disease and shoulder problems, she said.

Charlotte Thomas said her husband is unable to hang a picture on a wall. At times during the proceeding, Thomas appeared to have labored breathing and puffed on an inhaler. His wife also delivered his hearing aids to him.

Charlotte Thomas said she’s never heard her husband talk about hurting anyone.

He loves his country,” she said. “He’s the most patriotic man I’ve ever met.”

Ertel also raised questions about the confidential informant who recorded the group’s conservations for the FBI. He said the informant was charged with child molestation in South Carolina shortly before he began recording the group’s meetings.

McBurney told Judge Cole that the men’s age should not be considered in the decision to grant bond. He also said this is not a case of men just talking fantasy, but rather they had taken actions to realize their plan of destruction. Those steps included casing federal buildings in Atlanta, stock-piling weapons and purchasing the illegal silencer and what the men thought were explosives from an undercover federal agent.

It was the final step that resulted in Thomas’ arrest, he said.

“Age is not a barrier to the crimes these defendants are charged with,” McBurney said. “He can pull a trigger as well as you and I can.”